Frustrated Staten Island motorists rally in Arrochar to protest the $15 toll at the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, scheduled to start in March.Hilton Flores

An outdoor rally was held Saturday in Arrochar to protest the new $15 cash toll at the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge scheduled to take effect in March.

About 25 people attended the rally, held at the corner of Major and Lilly Pond avenues in Arrochar. The event was organized by the South Beach Civic Association and its President Joe McAllister.

"They put in place a silent tax they call toll hikes without having any say from us, the ones who make this city move," McAllister said of the MTA. "They use us as a scapegoat for their personal screw ups."

McAllister is looking for a permanent $3 toll for Island residents at the Verrazano.

Allen Cappelli, a MTA board member was on hand to offer up some sobering facts about where the toll money goes. He said $3 out of every $5 the MTA receives in tolls goes to subsidize mass transit.

Last year the MTA collected about $1.5 billion in tolls, system-wide, spending $400 million on bridge and tunnel operations, $200 million to pay debt and $900 million was used to subsidize buses, the Long Island Railroad, Metro North Railroad and subways, Cappelli said.

Many attending the rally said a meeting is needed with the mayor, MTA chairman and other elected city and state officials to map out a regional transit plan that shares the burden of funding public transportation more evenly.

Also attending the rally was Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis (R-East Shore/Brooklyn); Assemblyman Michael Cusick (D-Mid-Island); City Councilwoman Debi Rose (D-North Shore); Linda Baran, president of the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce, and two mayoral hopefuls, John Liu, the current city comptroller, and Sal Albanese. 